Uddami Computer Training Centre wrote: >$480??? And i thought the simputer was supposed to help bring computers to all >levels of society. At that cost it wont get any farther than the current PC >penetration and with so many competitors they can forget doing mass production >runs. > >bryan forst > > > It's amazing how people stop reading when they see a number they don't like. All of this discussion has been about the cost of what I called a 'high end Simputer', and not the *value*. I got the one with the color LCD and so on because that's what I *want*, and what I want to evaluate.
Toss in the fact that only 50,000 were produced compared to the millions of components built by commercial entities. Don't believe me? Ask Negroponte why it takes a minimum order of 1 *million* PCs to meet the $100 laptop which the MIT Media Lab is looking at. Build 1 million Simputers, and the price would be drastically lower: http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=11203&hed=The+hundred-buck+PC (it's stuck in the article where one would pass it on a scan, so please *read* the article). But again, we look at the 2 birds in the bush instead of the 1 in hand. Nevermind the internal politics in India which have been detrimental to the Simputer itself - as I found on the UN ICT Policy list, and shared here on this list. Despite these challenges, the Simputer is actually a reality! Besides, as far as India goes - $480 that stays in India's economy is better than $289 that goes out. That's basic economics. Imagine how much stronger the U.S.economy would be if it didn't outsource building it's computer components... I daresay that the greatest user of these components would be the U.S. at present, and while I don't see it as a big issue with the U.S. economy (there are certainly larger issues beyond the scope of this list), it is certainly an interesting issue that the 'developing world' may not wish to emulate - since the 'developing world' isn't integrating components built elsewhere, putting them in boxes and selling them to the 'developing world'. So at an economic level, 'developing countries' would probably want to skip the middleman - and they are beginning to do so. It just so happens that the main producers are India (mainly software) and China/Taiwan (mainly hardware). It just so happens that both of these growing economies are beginning to make contact with other parts of the world and selling direct. And further, they are selling and giving the ability to manufacture locally - through Open Source software and operating systems (Linux distributions), Open Hardware such as the Simputer, assistance in setting up computer manufacturing (China assisting Venezuala), and to top it off - genetically engineered crops (China's genetically engineered agriculture information is done by Universities instead of Monsanto, which puts U.S. farmers and Iraqi farmers *equally* in jail for saving seeds). So yes, $480 for the model targetted for people who have the money to use it. Why did I pick that model? Because I'm spending *my* money, and that's what I want for my money. If you want a lower grade model, and are serious about purchase, I encourage you to deal with the only present manufacturer of the Simputer - http://www.amidasimputer.com. Or, you could go to Simputer.org, download the hardware specifications, download the operating system (Linux and Open Source Software), the Software Development Kit, and build one yourself. -- Taran Rampersad Presently in: San Jose, Costa Rica [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.knowprose.com http://www.easylum.net http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/Taran "Criticize by creating." — Michelangelo _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
